Phylogenetic analyses and in-seedling expression of ammonium and nitrate transporters in wheat

Abstract

Plants deploy several ammonium transporter (AMT) and nitrate transporter (NRT) genes to acquire NH4+ and NO3− from the soil into the roots and then transport them to other plant organs. Coding sequences of wheat genes obtained from ENSEMBL were aligned to known AMT and NRT sequences of Arabidopsis, barley, maize, rice, and wheat to retrieve homologous genes. Bayesian phylogenetic relationships among these genes showed distinct classification of sequences with significant homology to NRT1, NRT2, and NRT3 (NAR2). Inter-species gene duplication analysis showed that eight AMT and 77 NRT genes were orthologous to the AMT and NRT genes of aforementioned plant species. Expression patterns of these genes were studied via whole transcriptome sequencing of 21-day old seedlings of five spring wheat lines. Eight AMT and 52 NRT genes were differentially expressed between root and shoot; and 131 genes did not express neither in root nor in shoot of 21-day old seedlings. Homeologous genes in the A, B, and D genomes, characterized by high sequence homology, revealed that their counterparts exhibited different expression patterns. This complement and evolutionary relationship of wheat AMT and NRT genes is expected to help in development of wheat germplasm with increased efficiency in nitrogen uptake and usage.

CO2 Elevation Accelerates Phenology and Alters Carbon/Nitrogen Metabolism vis-à-vis ROS Abundance in Bread Wheat

“…Out of the various NPF genes analyzed TaNPF7.1 showed highest transcript abundance in roots. Expression analysis of Wheat, NPF genes were previously described (Buchner and Hawkesford, 2014;Bajgain et al, 2018). TaNPF6.6, TaNPF6.5, TaNPF2.1 and TaNPF2.2 were highly expressed in the shoot (Buchner and Hawkesford, 2014).…”

Phylogeny and gene expression of the complete NITRATE TRANSPORTER 1/PEPTIDE TRANSPORTER FAMILY in Triticum aestivum

“…Although many studies have been conducted on physiological functions of NPF genes, little systematic analysis of the NPF gene family has been reported, especially in hexaploid wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). Previously, wheat NPF genes have been identified and partly described, including detailed gene expression analysis ( Buchner and Hawkesford, 2014 ; Bajgain et al , 2018 ). With the aid of the recently released wheat reference genome (International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium, 2018), we carried out a detailed analysis of the complete NPF gene family in wheat.…”

A wheat transcription factor positively sets seed vigour by regulating the grain nitrate signal

“…), and enhanced spikes and grain yield (Table ). The NRT2 family size is different in each plant species (Miller et al , ; Pellizzaro et al , ; Bajgain et al , ; Fig. S5), and some NRT2s are capable of nitrate uptake only when co‐expressed with a partner NAR2 in Arabidopsis (Orsel et al , ; Kotur & Glass, ; O'Brien et al , ), barley (Tong et al , ), rice (Yan et al , ), wheat (Taulemesse et al , ) and chrysanthemum (Gu et al , ).…”

“…2). The NRT2 family size is different in each plant species Pellizzaro et al, 2015;Bajgain et al, 2018;Fig. Overexpressing TaNRT2.5-3B promoted germination and increased grain nitrate concentration, but not the total seed nitrogen (N) (Fig.…”